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ERC Synergy Grants

Call illustration

Are you a researcher that wants to address a research problem so ambitious, that can not be dealt with you and your team alone? The Synergy Grants could be for you!

Who can apply?

A group of two to maximum four Principal Investigators (PIs) working together and bringing different skills and resources to tackle ambitious research problems.  One will be designated as the corresponding PI (cPI).

No specific eligibility criteria regarding the academic training are foreseen for ERC Synergy Grants.

Proposals are evaluated on the sole criterion of scientific excellence which takes on the additional meaning of outstanding intrinsic synergetic effect.

What proposals are eligible?

Criteria

Applications can be made in any field of research.

The ERC's grants operate on a 'bottom-up' basis without predetermined priorities. In the case of the ERC Synergy Grants, applications must demonstrate that the proposed research cannot be carried out by a single PI working alone.

Location

Research must be conducted by all PIs in a public or private research organisation (known as a Host Institution, HI).

It could be the HI where the applicant already works, or any other HI established in one of the EU Member States or associated countries.

One Principal Investigator per Synergy Grant group at any one time can be hosted or engaged by an institution outside of the EU or Associated Countries.

Host Institution (HI)

PIs can apply within the same HI or through different HIs.

Where the different PIs may be hosted by more than one HI, each of these HIs shall offer their support to the PI(s) hosted by them for the duration of the grant.

At submission stage, all Host Institutions must provide the host support letter for their Principal Investigator(s).

The ERC Synergy Grant is awarded to the cHI that engages and hosts the cPI for at least the duration of the grant, and to any other HI that engages and hosts other PIs participating in the project.

The host institutions must engage the PIs for at least the duration of the grant and must offer appropriate conditions for PIs supported to independently direct the proposed research and manage the project's funding for its duration.

The PIs do not necessarily need to be working at the HI indicated in the proposal at the time when it is submitted.  However, a mutual agreement – called supplementary agreement – and the host institutions' commitment on how the relationship will be established are necessary, should the proposal be successful.

Team

ERC Synergy grants support projects carried out by a group of two to four individual researchers who can employ researchers of any nationality as team members.

It is also possible to have one or more team members located in a third country.

Vacancies for team members interested in joining an ERC led research project can be published on the Euraxess-Jobs portal.

How much?

Synergy Grants can be up to a maximum of € 10 million for a period of 6 years (pro rata for projects of shorter duration).

However, an additional € 4 million can be requested in the proposal in total to cover eligible “start-up” costs for researchers moving from a third country to the EU or an associated country and/or the purchase of major equipment and/or access to large facilities and/or other major experimental and field work costs.

An ERC grant can cover up to 100% of the total eligible direct costs of the research plus a contribution of 25% of the total eligible costs towards indirect costs.

How to apply?

ERC grant applications can only be submitted in response to a Call for Proposals.

The ERC yearly has calls for proposals covering all scientific fields.

For an ERC grant application to be complete, it needs to include the administrative forms, the research proposal and the supplementary documents. The completed proposal should be submitted by the specified closing date.

Calls are published on this page, the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and in the Official Journal of the European Union.

How does the evaluation process work?

A single submission of the full proposal is followed by a three-step evaluation, including interviews.

Synergy evaluations will be unique, fit for complex projects and without predefined panels.

Proposals are evaluated by selected international peer reviewers who evaluate proposals on the basis of excellence as the sole criterion.

It applies to the evaluation of both the research project and the Principal Investigators, taking into account the synergetic aspects of the proposed research.

Panel Members are selected by the ERC Scientific Council on the basis of their scientific reputation.

  • Step 1: the extended synopsis and the Principal Investigators’ track-records and CVs will be assessed (and not the full scientific proposal)
     
  • Step 2: the complete version of the retained proposals will be assessed
     
  • Step 3 Principal Investigators will be invited for an interview to present their project to a panel in Brussels and the most competitive of the retained proposals will be identified

Open call

Key documents

Call website
Institution
Application date
Duration
Up to 6 years
Discipline
Humanities
Social sciences
Citizen Sciences
Other